Celebrity Interview - Leona Lewis - Comments

Leona Lewis

Poster: H! Society 10/06/2008

THE WINNER OF THE THIRD EDITION OF UK TALENT SHOW THE X FACTOR (IN 2004), 23-YEAR-OLD LEONA LEWIS HAS GIVEN NEW MEANING TO THE TERM “FAST-SELLING” – HER DEBUT ALBUM SPIRIT BREAKING RECORDS BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC INTERVIEW BY Dylan Rogers/FAMOUS

■ What’s it like to see posters of yourself around the place, or in magazines?“When I see myself in magazines it is a bit surreal. I always have fun on my shoots; it’s nice to be creative and I love that side of it as well. When I see the finished product, it’s kinda like, ‘wow’; it’s something to really be proud of.”

■ Are you able to walk the streets – or too famous for that now?“Yeah, of course.”

■ Don’t people always come up to you, and stop you every two minutes, saying that they voted for you on The X-Factor?“Some people come up to me and tell me that they voted for me, but I think it’s something nice because the people that supported me are the same people who have allowed me to do what I’m doing. I’m so grateful for that and I’ve got all the time in the world for people who wanna have a little chat.”

■ A lot of people were talking about how unassuming and shy you were then. Has that changed; are you more confident now?“I don’t think I’ve changed at all – I think I’m exactly the same person that I always was. On the show you go out and you’re judged on two minutes of performing a song, so it was very nerve-wracking. I wasn’t really confident on the show, but I always have a quiet self-confidence, and that’s just me, and I’m still me now.”

■ Tell us about your cultural background (like Mariah Carey…mixed race)? “My dad’s Guyanese and my mum’s Welsh.”

■ Was it difficult for you growing up being mixed race?“It wasn’t a big deal for me because my parents were so supportive. I just grew up thinking that everyone’s different at the end of the day, I’m me, and what’s different about us is what makes us unique. It would be boring if we were all the same.”

■ How has your family dealt with your success this year?“Since I left school I’ve always been flickering around doing music, and doing different projects here and there, and they were always really supportive of that. They’d just tell me to do what my heart tells me to do, and do the best that I can. I make time whenever I can to see my friends and my family, but at the moment we’re all just on such a high.”

■ Your boyfriend has been very supportive also, right?“My boyfriend, my mum, my dad, my family, my friends – they’re just so happy for me. A lot of my friends have been around since I’ve been really young, so they’ve always known singing is what I love to do, and so they’re all really happy for me.”

■ Do you have to look after your voice any differently these days?“I do exactly the same routines that I always do. I had a singing teacher and she always told me to warm up my voice and make sure that you’re looking after it properly. That’s kinda what I do now.”

■ What do you like doing on your day-off? How many days off have you had in the last month?“I’ve had a few days off. (laughs) I just usually veg out on the couch and watch a DVD, or take my nephew out somewhere, or I’m a real big film buff so I’ll go to the cinema or something.”

■ No celebrity parties and mingling with the A-list?“Ya know when I have time off I’d really just rather be with my friends and family, and just chill out with them. Seriously – I’m so tired sometimes that I just wanna go chill out at home. It’s nice to go to awards and stuff like that – I went to the Cosmo Awards the other night and I was really lucky enough to win the best newcomer award, which was amazing for me; my family were really excited about that so we just kinda go out and celebrate together.”

■ Can you believe the year you’ve had – or is it all like a dream?“I do find I have to pinch myself a lot… it’s so amazing. To win The X-Factor was a dream come true to me, so I do have to pinch myself a lot.”

■ Your iPod top three?Anytime You Need A Friend – Mariah Carey; No One – Alicia Keys; Pastime Paradise – Stevie Wonder.

■ In terms of everything that’s happened – what are you most proud of?“I think I’m most proud of the album (Spirit) because I’ve taken time out to work on it. For all the people that have supported me, and for my debut album, I wanted it to be something that I could be proud of, and something people would want to listen to. So, I took that time, and I worked hard on the album, and I think that’s what I’m most proud of – the final product.”

■ The cover of your album is a beautiful picture, and it’s similar to the Alicia Keys cover – have you seen that? “I think it’s just strong when it’s a simple face shot, and I thought it just worked.”

■ Step it back… Before winning The X-Factor, had you always been singing?“I’ve been singing since before I can remember really, and just annoying everyone in my house with my singing. Then I went on to singing and music lessons – like I said, I did opera, jazz, and blues, so I’ve got a fusion of everything going on. I also did drama and dance as well, so I’ve always been around performing arts.”

■ Can’t believe that a girl like you – talented and beautiful – walks around and no one thinks you’re a superstar… you must have had interest in you as a performer before The X-Factor?“Well, the thing is I would always be in the studio in my free time when I wasn’t working. I got little small projects going where I’d work with producers or songwriters, and do acoustic gigs and shows here and there, but nothing as big as The X-Factor. When I did that it was just amazing.”

■ Could you comprehend your success when you won the show?“While I was doing the show, when I got to the live stages, what happened was we all went into the house and lived together and did the shows each week. It was so weird because overnight everyone knew who you were. You go out to the shop and people were kinda like, ‘hey Leona’, so that was kinda weird and took some getting use to.”

■ The X-Factor winners traditionally do well in the countries where the show is from – however, your career seems to have been planned as an international career right from the beginning. Were you aware of that?“Throughout the show all I did was concentrate on that week, and preparing that song, and doing the best I could. When I won, obviously Simon told me then that Clive Davies wanted to be involved in the project, and he said that whether I’d won or didn’t, he still wanted to help with the album. I was just really grateful for that opportunity, and I went over there and did the showcase, and then worked with some really great people.”

■ You’ve been compared to Whitney Houston. Are you a big fan? Have you met her?“I’ve never met Whitney Houston but I’m a huge fan – I think she’s amazing. Her songs, when I was younger, were those kinda hairbrush songs that I use to sing around to… I Will Always Love You. I would love to meet her one day.”

■ You’ve also been compared to Mariah Carey as a singer too. Are you a fan?“I’m a massive fan of Mariah Carey, Eva Cassidy and Minnie Ripperton – they’re just artists I use to listen to, and I use to sing along to their songs. I just love the songwriting, I love the lyrics, I love the music, and I love their voices, which were amazing and really spoke to me. They’re just people who I used to listen to, and who were very influential to my sound as well.”

■ Bleeding Love was written and produced by Ryan Tedder, who works with Timbaland and is part of the rock group One Republic, right? “Ryan Tedder is from the band One Republic – he’s a songwriter and a producer, and I worked with him on the single Bleeding Love. He was so amazing to work with, and I learnt so much from him because he’s got a lot of different influences – he’s got rock, and he’s kinda got R&B because he works with Timbaland a lot, so it was a good fusion. I learnt a lot from him and he was great to work with.”

■ Was there a particular sound you were going for with this album?“Ya know what, my background is… I first started doing a lot of classical, so I did a lot of opera, then I went into jazz and blues, and as I got older I liked listening to pop and rock – so I have so many different influences. So making the record I just kinda experimented with everything, and it’s kinda like a big fusion of everything. There’s something for everyone.”

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